*Grumble grumble…*
Rumors of a grim nature have spread around.
*Whisper whisper…*
I’ve heard that unsettling gatherings are being held here and there.
*Gossip gossip…*
People are reportedly getting caught by the police while shouting strange slogans.
I could feel the main story progressing slowly.
*Dramatic drum roll…*
The climax of this novel will be the war between humans and Majin.
No matter how much I intervene in the story and create a butterfly effect, the overall flow will never change.
Humans and Majin must inevitably clash.
The stage has been set for it to be that way.
*Ta-da!*
So what exactly is a Majin? The answer would be best described as aliens.
*Cosmic twinkle…*
Beings from another dimension.
Thousands of years ago, due to an unfortunate accident, a dimensional rift opened in the continent.
*Rumble rumble…*
Through that rift, hundreds of thousands of Majin poured into the continent.
And at the same time, a war broke out between Majin and humanity.
*Boom boom…*
The reason remains unknown.
Well, it’s because I didn’t write it.
I can only guess it was due to mutual misunderstanding.
*Thinking cap on…*
In the early stages of the war, the human alliance consisting of humans, subhumans, and elves overwhelmed the Majin.
Even though their civilization level was much lower than it is now, the Majin struggled against the overwhelming military strength derived from sheer numbers and magic they had never faced before.
*Scary battlefield noises…*
It’s understandable since they were fighting on foreign soil from the get-go.
However, as time passed, the tide of the battle started to shift inexplicably.
*Shifting sands…*
At first, the Majin possessed physical abilities comparable to humans, but they gradually became stronger.
The people at the time weren’t fools, and they quickly reached a conclusion.
*Ding ding!*
Majin grow stronger the more they die.
As the number of Majin decreased, the power of the surviving Majin became vast.
So, no matter how many got killed, the total power of the Majin always remained constant.
*Ominous music plays…*
The war continued for over a thousand years without rest.
During this time, the Majin grew stronger as they lost their kin, while humanity advanced their civilization and strengthened their firepower.
It was a war structured in such a way that one side could never completely annihilate the other.
The Majin didn’t want to lose any more kin, and humanity didn’t want to live in fear of war any longer.
In the end, after approximately 2000 years of warfare, humanity and Majin agreed to ceasefire, with only 10 Majin remaining.
*Final countdown…*
The remaining 10 Majin, who absorbed the strength of the dozens of thousands who had perished, possessed enough power to easily obliterate a small nation.
To maintain peace with humanity, Tiltitz made all Majin swear not to interfere in human disputes.
Since then, Majin who admired or liked humans started to hide their identities and mingle among them, while the rest lived as they pleased.
*Dramatic sigh…*
However, the undeniable fact is that since the ceasefire, the discord between humans and Majin has never escalated beyond a certain point.
But now, it seems like those with a suspicious ideology claiming that Majin should dominate humanity are starting to crawl out…
*Boom!*
“…?!”
At that moment, a loud explosion echoed from afar.
I was startled, halted my thoughts, and quickly sprang up out of the training room, racing up the stairs.
“Emilia!”
“Yeah?”
I called out urgently, and Emilia stepped out of the kitchen wearing an apron.
It seemed her ears weren’t that sensitive, as the explosion didn’t sound too loud to her.
Must be thanks to the excellent soundproofing of this mansion; the epicenter was definitely close.
At least within 500 meters.
“Get into the underground training room.”
“Suddenly? Why?”
“Because it’s dangerous. Just trust me.”
“Uh…?”
I grabbed Emilia’s wrist, forcing her along.
It seemed the incident during the midterms left her a bit traumatized.
I couldn’t let her be in danger again.
“It feels safer next to you—”
*Bang!*
In an instant, a flash of light surged, and a shockwave hit us.
Reflexively wrapping myself around Emilia, we were blasted away.
After rolling down the corridor, I hurriedly checked on Emilia’s condition.
Aside from a bit of soot on her face and her coughing, she didn’t seem to have any visible injuries.
“Damn it…”
As I turned towards the entrance, the curses slipped out unconsciously.
The door had been completely ripped off, leaving a large hole surrounded by black scorch marks.
Even shattering the barrier, the impact reached this far inside.
Had there been no barrier, we would have been dust by now.
“…?”
At that moment, I noticed a figure beyond the dark hole in the entrance.
It was a hooded figure, male based on his build.
All I felt was an ominous sensation.
*Reading…*
‘Inquiry.’
[Unnamed]
[Gender: Male]
[An unnamed tool.]
What is this?
This was a type of profile I had never seen before.
An icy chill ran through me as I stood frozen.
“You are currently trespassing into the Chairwoman’s residence! Evacuate immediately!”
“…”
“I warn you! If you do not leave at once, I will consider the recent explosion your doing and will attack!”
“…”
“Emilia. Stay back.”
“Okay…”
He remained silent.
Silence is often a sign of agreement.
I immediately assumed a combat stance.
The power that shattered Alexia’s barrier was formidable.
He must possess considerable mana.
First, let’s conduct a reconnaissance—
“What the—?!”
Just as I was about to execute my plan, he charged at me with all his might.
His speed wasn’t particularly fast.
I’m not saying he was slower compared to Trie or Pelaine, but even judged as an ordinary person, his speed wasn’t remarkable.
“…!”
At that moment, an intense mana wave surged towards me, paralyzing my instincts.
The spell that wave represented was none other than the explosion spell.
It was simple and the most basic form, but its size and the sheer amount of mana contained within it could not be ignored.
If that explodes, we’re definitely dead.
However, there was one problem.
‘There’s… no spell?!’
No matter how I surveyed the surrounding mana, I couldn’t find the spell.
The wave was undoubtedly emanating from the front.
Given the rising frequency, the spell was surely getting closer—
‘Huh?’
I realized what was happening.
The spell wasn’t inscribed in the mana.
It wasn’t an external circuit; it was the internal circuit of that guy.
He had edited his internal circuits, a space where others couldn’t interfere, in the form of an explosion spell.
‘Suicidal attack?!’
An attack that sacrifices oneself, impossible to dismantle or halt.
I hurriedly attempted to unleash a mana discharge spell to attack him—
“Damn!”
Just before firing, my spell was disrupted.
There were definitely several powerful figures marking me; they matched my spell deployment speed.
Meanwhile, he was already at the entrance right in front of me.
If I tried to approach with my sword, he’d detonate right away.
Time was running out.
It was time to use my last resort.
‘Selection and Concentration. Using 1 second of mana.’
In an instant, mana surged within me.
I immediately deployed the barrier spell to trap him inside.
It was a simple, brainless barrier that poured all my efforts into raw power, thoroughly disregarding magic resistance or recognition interference.
I had no idea how many were trying to dismantle my spell, but there was no way they could take this one down.
The barrier spell was structured to prevent mana waves from leaking out.
Unless the core was hidden within, it would be quite difficult to dismantle from the outside, even if I used ‘Selection and Concentration’ on my computational power.
“Graaaaaah!”
“What the…?”
The guy trapped inside howled as he pounded on the barrier.
Fortunately, it seemed he lacked the computational power to dismantle my spell.
Or maybe he was too dim-witted even to consider dismantling it…
No matter how much he banged, the barrier didn’t budge, and his body began to glow a sinister red, grotesquely contorting.
*BOOM!*
With a bright flash, an explosion erupted from within the barrier.
I reflexively shielded Emilia, but it was unnecessary.
The barrier remained intact despite the damage.
I was glad I poured raw power into it.
“…”
Inside the barrier, only dark stains remained.
After such high temperatures, not even a fragment of flesh or a bone dust was left.
It was hard to believe that just moments ago, a healthy man had stood there.
[Quest: Subdue all intruders who invaded the Imperial University.]
[Difficulty: ★★★★★]
[Reward: 10 shop coins]
A quest notification appeared.
I had almost forgotten to explain.
These are the ones.
Those lunatics spouting that Majin should dominate humanity.
Their ultimate goal is the birth of a “One True God.”
They believe that the Majin are a far superior existence compared to humans, yet still claim they aren’t perfect enough.
The prediction is that when all Majin are dead and only one remains, that last one, infused with the strength of hundreds of thousands of Majin, will possess omnipotent power that rivals that of Aigis, the deity.
They’ve even created a religion devoted to a nonexistent “One True God,” frantically worshipping like fanatics.
Of course, to make that “One True God” acceptable to humans, they wouldn’t hesitate to resort to any means necessary.
Like a self-destructive charge…
“Shouldn’t we head into the training room? The barrier there is supposed to be the strongest, right?”
“No. Stay close to me. It’s safer beside me than there.”
“U-uhm.”
I clutched the trembling Emilia’s arm and pulled her tightly behind me.
Claiming the training room was safe only applied when ‘somewhat’ strong foes attacked; against those kinds of lunatics, the training room could be just as dangerous.
Their momentary explosive power could rival that of a Majin.
“Hey… Follow me closely.”
“Where to?”
“To catch the pesky flies invading the Imperial University.”
Using observation magic, I noticed the main gate of the Imperial University had been utterly devastated, and suspicious entities were lurking here and there.
Most likely, they remotely dismantled my spells.
I couldn’t bear to see casualties.
Grinding my teeth, I stepped out of the entrance with Emilia.
